Watts' Almshouses

Watts' Almshouses are a group of buildings dating from 1858, designed by Charles Foord. The complex is primarily red brick with Portland limestone dressings, with bays of yellow brick and a central block of random rubble ragstone, all covered by a Welsh slate roof. Described as "Jacobean style with knobs on," the almshouses comprise a tall, two-story central block, and long, identical flanking ranges of one and two stories. Originally, a spine corridor served accommodation to the rear and front, but this has since been re-organized.

The central block features a porch with a round-headed arched doorway of multiple orders, detailed with voussoir straps, accessed by stone steps and railings under a low, Flemish-style gable. An angle buttress with numerous set-offs supports a tall, polygonal turret topped with a leaded spire. To the left of the porch, linked by a string course, is a tall, storied wing with a Flemish-style gable; a trefoil-section oriel, complete with parapet and extensively moulded corbels (featuring foliage and an inscription frieze), is supported on a large central buttress with set-offs, flanked by two-light windows with transoms. Transomed and mullioned windows are incorporated into the side elevations.

The flanking ranges, housing the almshouses, display a mix of storied red brick wings (with two window front walls, each window beneath a Flemish-style gable of varying heights and transomed windows under flat arches) alongside canted bays. These bays feature Flemish gables and simple canted designs, all constructed in yellow brick. Porches with similar arched doorways to the central block are also present. Shaped ridge stacks have shafts angled to their bases. The rear of the building contains low gable wings, with all windows having been replaced. A detached washroom/laundry building is located at the rear, featuring raised, louvred ventilators.

Inside the central block, there is an open-well staircase and a Board Room with a robust hammer-beam roof. Internal walls are banded with alternating red and buff brick, showcasing brickwork and fine pointing of exceptional quality. Overall, the almshouses provide a good example of vigorous, carefully detailed mid-Victorian 17th-century domestic revival architecture.